Floodgate Terror
by OrionSTARB0Y
Summary: Vengeance will be had. The ex-Arachnos couple will make sure of that. Follow the Araquas and water-controller hero Blue Barrage as they plot to bring down Lord Recluse and the Arachnos on an aquatic front.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

A Pair of Rogue Aces

"I've dealt with many Arachnos Rogues before, but nothing comes close to the two of you," Matthew Burke remarked. "I hate dealing with Arachnos all together, but I think we may have something in common, you and me." The mercenary did not avert his eyes for a second from the pair of dark-blue and cyan once-Arachnos couple.

"I honor your—uneasiness—with the Arachnos and I want to assure you, we are no longer affiliated with the brain-washed hollows that call themselves 'honorable soldiers'," said the slender, yet proportionate Night Widow. She wore no visible protection besides the custom-colored Widow-skin and a bone-white spider-pack and indigo breastplate attachment, with a partially-unzipped collar. If Burke looked closely to the spider-pack, he would vaguely see a scratched-out red painted Arachnos emblem. The Widow's deep black hair hung over her collar and down her back in a perfect single column, her eyes dark with hate with a vast undertone of melancholy.

"We could never forgive Recluse and his minions for what they did. In a sense, we all share the same hatred for the _tyrant_ and his drones," added the large Crab Spider, who shared the same color scheme (relatively) as the Widow. Visually, the Crab Spider's armor was a special variant of the standard-issue armor. Air ventilation tubes entered the back of his helmet from his modified spider-pack, which also housed two propelling jets on the abdomen of the pack. His boots included another pair of small propelling jets on each, and his arm claws ended in air-propelled spear-ends. Again, the two red painted Arachnos emblems on both his spider-pack and chest plate were scratched out. Visually, the mechanical spider legs looked like they were designed for slicing more than blasting. Burke knew, however, that appearances can be deceiving.

"Well I gotta say I like your attitude, but I'm smart enough to recognize a doomed plan when I see one. You two are crazy to go up against the big guy by yourselves, therefore I won't help you _directly_," winked Burke. "I just might know a guy who can help you, though. But it's gonna cost you big time."

"Name the price, and we'll pay," said the Widow. She seemed a bit perturbed. Burke liked it when women were annoyed by him.

"Oh, let's see. How about you, babe?"

"Unwise answer," grumbled the Crab Spider, who now held the mercenary a foot above him by the neck. All four mechanical spider legs focused between Burke's eyes.

"Now, now, Gabriel, let's act like civilized villains for a minute, shall we? Put the scum down," cooed the Widow, softly stroking her counterpart's bicep. Gabriel hesitated for a second, and then dropped Burke to his knees, leaving the mercenary gasping and wheezing. Burke's eyes opened to the slink of six small spikes forming from the Widow's fist in front of his sweaty face. "Mr. Burke, you should know better than to take a pass at the wife of the infamous Araqua. Not only will you induce the wrath of my husband, but you could possibly flatter the equally infamous Mistress Araqua. Flattery from another man other than Gabriel is just unacceptable, _Mr. Burke_," smirked the Widow.

"_The Araquas?_ I beg your forgiveness, ma'am. I did not know Recluse's best aquatic combat duo could ever betray their master," sputtered Burke.

"I didn't expect you to know, Matthew. Now, is there any other price for your information, or is that your final offer," asked Mistress Araqua as she inched her spikes closer to his face.

"Okay, okay! I have another price, but this may be difficult, even for the two of you. I want you to put the WEB out of commission. With it out of the picture, it will take forever for Recluse to reset the controls and create a new set of launch codes for his little rocket in Warburg."

"Done. Now, give us the information, or the WEB remains operational," grunted Araqua.

"Fine. I have a friend who could help you take on Recluse. He's one of the most powerful supers I've known, and he's already had a run-in with the big spider. We usually go out twice a week to Pocket D for a drink. The only thing is, he's a 100 percent anti-Arachnos do-gooder, so there may be a big chance he'll turn you down at a first glance," explained Burke.

"He will help us if he wants to see the end of the Arachnos," said Araqua.

"Sure, you keep with that mind-set. His real name is Michael Stevenson, but he likes to go by the Blue Barrage. I doubt he'll want to meet with you, but I can get him to a spot where you can talk. But that, too, will cost--" Araqua's claw was already hovering across Burke's throat before he finished his sentence. "—okay, drinks are on me, then."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Water for Blood

"Hey, there's my favorite drinking bud! Burke, double time! Double shots," yelled the drunken, blue-and-red leather clad hero, holding up two fingers to the bartender. "Make it bourbon, and snappy!"

"You kidding me? I just arrived, and you're already drunker than an Irishman! Thanks, bub," said Burke as he downed the first shot of the night. "How're things in merry ol' Paragon?"

"Pssh, same ol', same ol'. Yesterday, I had a tussle with some Malta goons that ended with me blowing up their little base. Now the neighbor of the warehouse is threatening to sue me for damages to his house! And I says to him, 'hey look, if you didn't want damages to your precious property, then you shouldn't have lived next to an abandoned friggin' warehouse,'" hiccupped the drunk. "I swear it's all a Nemesis plot!"

"Listen, Blue, I've got this couple who--"

"'The Blue Barrage', I suppose" interrupts Mistress Araqua. The hero turns sluggishly in his stool and stiffens at the sight of the Night Widow and her Crab Spider husband. Blue's face becomes stiff and gray as rock.

"What the f&*k do you want, eight-legs," hostilely spat the Blue Barrage.

"Blue, please listen to what they have to say," said Burke.

"I don't give a crap for what they have to say. Arachnos are the enemy, remember Burke?"

"Amazing. That's record time from drunk to sober," joked Araqua.

"You wanna go itsy bitsy spider? Let's take it to the pit, see who's laughing then," grimaced Blue.

"We are not Arachnos, Blue. We are not your enemy," said Mistress Araqua.

"Today's not Halloween, but you're dressed like Arachnos," accused Blue.

"We are _not_ Arachnos," Mistress Araqua firmly repeated. Blue studied the Widow for a minute, then the Crab Spider.

"Spiders are spiders in my point of view," concluded the Blue Barrage. The hero placed a twenty on the bar and started to walk away.

"289-477465-963308," stated Mistress Araqua. Blue stopped in his tracks. "That will disable all outlying Arachnos defenses in Siren's Call. That is only the tip of the iceberg for all the information both Araqua and I possess based on Arachnos."

Blue turned on his heels, and slowly walked back towards the villains. "Araqua," he pointed towards the Crab Spider, "and his mistress, I presume?"

"That's our names, don't wear them out," said Araqua.

"I've heard about you two. Funny I haven't run into you to, considering your area of expertise and my area of expertise," grinned Blue. "The legendary Araquas: specially chosen by Lord Recluse himself along with a few other Arachnos operatives. Trained in aquatic combat, both of you excelling beyond all other candidates. Not only attaining an honor—you may say—equal to becoming an Arbiter, but also becoming the Arachnos' most feared married couple through the program. The pride of Recluse himself."

"And the bane of Recluse himself," added Araqua. The Blue Barrage turned to Araqua with surprise.

"Oh? Do I sense resentment in the utterance of your master's name?" Mistress Araqua took a seat on a stool, closing her eyes in pain and sorrow.

"It was four months ago. We were assigned the destruction of a secret Longbow training facility on an island 20 miles off the Coast of Peregrine Island. It was supposed to be simple: level the base and leave behind no witnesses. We were trained to kill, but it wasn't that simple. The trainees," paused Mistress Araqua. "The trainees were children. Being a mother and father of our only son, Robert Lanlock, we couldn't bring ourselves to kill innocent children, even if they were the enemy.

"Well, as you probably already guessed, that did not go over well with Recluse. The night after our suspension, Recluse and his Blackguard invaded our home. He made us watch as he…as he," choked Mistress Araqua.

"He killed Robert," Araqua completed. Mistress Araqua broke into heavy sobs. Araqua leaned over to comfort her with gentleness unthinkable to others. "It's okay Jennifer. Recluse will pay for what he did," Araqua turned to the Blue Barrage. "Don't you see? We could never serve that monster ever again, not after what he did. That is why we're here: we need your help to take down Recluse and the Arachnos." Blue studies the situation for only a brief moment.

"I don't buy it for a second. You eight-leggers are known for being deceiving, and my gut tells me that story was just bait, and I ain't falling for it," said Blue, turning from the mourning couple. Araqua bolts up, pointing at Blue.

"That's because your guts have sh*t for brains! We lost our only son, you son of a--" yelled Araqua. Before he could confront Blue any further, Mistress Araqua placed a hand on his arm.

"Please, Mr. Barrage, our story is not a fake. We are not secret agents with a mission to deceive and destroy, or anything of that nature. Please believe us, all we want is to see justice be served," said Mistress Araqua quietly. Blue turns back around and studies her, especially her eyes. When all else fails, Blue always returns to the eyes.

"Fine, I will help you _try_ to take out Recluse. I've already tried once before with help from Statesman, but I hope things will turn out better this time around." Blue felt that all too-familiar feeling in his stomach.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Morning Dew on the WEB

"So what exactly are your powers? Ice control?" asked Araqua. He and the Blue Barrage had stared at each other for the past hour as Mistress Araqua "stealthed" the immense underground base known as the WEB. Araqua and his wife had a promise to keep to Burke, so between the two of them and Blue, Mistress Araqua had the proper skills to deactivate all lockdown protocols in the case of an emergency.

"Well, you and your wife are gonna love the big surprise I have for you, if my information is correct," half-heartedly smirked Blue. "What I don't get is why your wife has to _sneak_ into an Arachnos-controlled base. What, are you two afraid of the limelight that much?"

"No, it's just that not only did Recluse kill our only son, he terminated both of our contracts of employment in the Arachnos. In a sense, we are rogues without the faithfulness to the whole cause," explained Araqua. "So if any of us are caught near the base, we are to be killed on sight. That's why my wife is _sneaking_ about, hero."

Mistress Araqua materializes next to her husband, her silver-domed helmed hiding her smile of revenge. "Alright, none of the emergency doors should shut for any emergency. Now why did you want me to do--?" Mistress Araqua was unable to complete her sentence as a fifteen-foot wave of water crashed into the three avengers. Struggling to control their spin in the wave, the Araquas hear Blue's voice in the rage of the water-wall, "Hold on to your butts, we're going in!"

The great wave crashes over the beach and rocks, accumulating tons of debris within the wave itself. More waves larger than the first crashed into the beach, picking up more debris as the Araquas and Blue entered the bases' large threshold and descended down the large ramp. The Araquas swam to the head of the wave, weapons poised for battle. Blue surfed on his feet next to them, "How'd you like my powers? I'm sorry that I didn't go over the plan, but it's basically flood the place, set all electrical output devices on a delayed activation, swim out and close all outer doors. The electrified water should make the place almost completely inaccessible and should fry all the computers. Sound fun?"

"You're insane!" shouted Mistress Araqua. She was surprised to find Araqua laughing.

"Sounds like my type of game! Shock and awe," laughed Araqua. "Jennifer, you focus on the door controls. I'll go for EMP generators." Mistress Araqua nods in confirmation and swims to the edge of the wave, jumping out of the water and into a yet-flooded corridor. In the sound of the thunderous force, Mistress almost missed the gunfire that buzzed behind her. Two pop-up turrets had activated and identified her as an intruder. Mistress bolted towards the pair of turrets, launching her concealed darts at one which detonated a moment later. She leaped three feet on one wall, leaped another three feet towards the turret and pummeled it with her fist spikes.

The hallway started to flood as she landed, and a spray of ocean mist passed through the hallway as the second wall of water and debris stormed pass the doorway. Mistress rushed through the hallway and made her way through a series of catacombs filled with unsuspecting scientists and Arachnos soldiers to the main access controls. Mistress immediately closed all outside doors except for the main access door. Any survivors would not be able to force their way through the rushing water out that door, all except the Araquas and Blue. As Mistress Araqua turned to assist her comrades, she caught a glimpse of the unthinkable. Araqua and Blue were headed straight for the Araquas' all-time archrival, Barracuda.

Mistress uttered a foul curse under her breath. Barracuda was once their idol, many years ago. The Araquas had dreamed of once being like her; they wished to be Captain Mako's right-hand assassins. To be the lackey of Mako gave a villain the special opportunity to learn all of his secrets and to control the seven seas itself. However Barracuda wished to be the only lackey of Captain Mako, and thus a bitter rivalry formed between her and the Araquas. Barracuda wished to die before letting mere pawns learn Mako's secrets. Barracuda proved to be a formidable foe, though, and to this day had prevailed over the Araquas. _Today will be different_, thought Mistress.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Grandeville

"I am sorry, my lord. It was a surprise attack; somehow they knew the access codes to the WEB's defenses and flooded the entire compound. They closed all the doors to the outside and overloaded the generators, causing the water to become electrically charged," explained the Arbiter in control of the now-inaccessible WEB compound. He kneeled before the master of Arachnos, the looming Lord Recluse. His eyes grew slightly brighter red with annoyance.

"And, my lord, Barracuda was—" quivered the Arbiter before he was pierced through the throat by one of Recluse's metallic spider limbs.

"How…disappointing. Sergeant Mather, please organize a rescue team to aid Miss Barracuda out of her electrical prison. Oh, and get someone to clean this up," sneered Recluse. As the appointed Arachnos Operative made his way out of the dark chamber, the pale physique of Captain Mako glided from a shadow behind Recluse. "It seems your lackey didn't play with ordinary guppies, Mako. Details of this event irk me; I believe we may have heroes with intelligence in the area of Arachnos base access. It may be just another one of Statesman's task forces, but I have my concerns. I want you by my side at all times until the perpetrators have been neutralized."

Captain Mako gave a hiss and sank back into the shadows. Recluse stood and folded his arms, turning to a window. The blast shield retracted and a view of his gloomy metropolis, Grandeville. As always, the sky was gray with clouds threatening to rain upon his loyal pawns and the lines of new recruits waiting to be processed, just one of the many requirements for anyone wishing to live in his paradise. A brisk wind blew outside, chilling the residents of Grandeville and causing the distant ferry in port to violently sway and rock in the increasingly growing waves. Recluse couldn't help but think of the cliché _a storm is coming_.

*******

Again, Araqua and Blue Barrage found themselves impatiently waiting for Mistress Araqua to prep their target for the attack. They had parked a small boat loaded with explosives in a secret cave concealed during high tide. Lucky for them, they were able to enter near the end of low tide, giving them the perfect cover and temporary base of operations. Mistress Araqua then activated her stealth device and one-by-one planted the explosive in weak points around the wall of Grandeville, on the Rogue Isle Ferry, and any other vehicle that could ferry anyone who escaped. Today they were going to put Recluse and his beloved Grandeville out of commission. Permanently.

"Okay, so we're gonna sink Grandeville, but what about Recluse's tower? I can't make the sea magically raise that far up to flood the tower," asked Blue.

"Once we flood the ground, we will enter the tower and overload its power source, causing it to explode and make the tower topple into the sea below. This should also start a chain reaction for all other towers to topple, as they are all connected by the Tangle," answered Araqua.

"Oh yeah, you mean that big web-like thing over Grandville? That was really unwise architectural planning on the big spider's part. Wasn't he afraid that the Tangle would destroy the city if the main tower ever came down," Blue pondered.

"Recluse believes himself to be a god and that no one would dare attack his web. His arrogance will be his downfall," answered Mistress Araqua as she materialized out of thin air by the boat. "The bombs are in place, but we have a bigger problem: Mako's spirit sharks surround the island, and I wouldn't doubt that I was spotted despite my camouflage. Recluse already expects an attack, we must hurry."

Araqua and Blue Barrage give a silent nod of approval. Mistress Araqua flipped open the guard of the remote detonator and, after a flash of her son's face flew across her mind, she pushed the big red button. Twelve roaring explosions shook the island, and the three rogues disappeared beneath the raging depths of the cold, dark ocean. Stunned by the sudden attack, the Arachnos scrambled to care for the wounded and enforce a perimeter of defense. They did not notice, however, the three successions of one hundred-foot walls of water surrounding the island and rapidly advancing towards the unsuspecting villains.

The first wave carried the debris from the prior explosions and knocked the soldiers off their feet. The second wave washed through the city and its slums, destroying many structures and mecha and drowning most of the unprotected soldiers and miscellaneous island inhabitants. The third and final wave of the set carried with it the three rogues. Araqua and his wife sliced and stabbed through the remaining Arachnos soldiers as Blue Barrage surged visiting villains against walls and forcibly drowned any other enemies. Despite the initial carnage, however, more and more Arachnos troops and mecha descended from the Tangle to meet their adversaries in battle.

"There's too many of them, we will never reach Recluse in time," yelled Araqua over the din of aquatic warfare.

"Don't worry, I brought along an old Indy Port friend," Blue yelled back. He turned back towards the sunken beaches of Grandeville and began to slowly raise his arms. A fourth hundred-foot wave built up from the sea, and when Blue turned back towards the fight he groaned in immense concentration as he directed the large wave towards the tower. "Araquas break for the tower, now," yelled Blue.

The Araquas obeyed, and just as they broke through the front entrance of the tower the wall of water crashed into its outer walls. The entrance hall flooded in result, knocking the defenders off their feet along with the Araquas. Blue Barrage rushed into the hall and asked the Araquas, "Are you two okay?"

"What the hell was that," asked Mistress Araqua as she struggled to get up.

"Take a look for yourselves," answered Blue as he motioned them to the door. The married couple stumbled over to the door, shocked to find a giant octopus monster toppling the large statue of Lord Recluse in the middle of the plaza in front of the tower and wreaking havoc to all the descending Arachnos. "I managed to lure Lusca out of Independence Port back in Paragon. She's not on our side, though, so she will attack you as well. Be carefu—!" Blue was unable to finish his sentence as he was knocked several feet to the right by the snapping Captain Mako. Blue quickly formed a pillar of water and knocked Mako off from on top of him. "Run! Go get Recluse, I'll take care of fish-boy here," yelled Blue.

The Araquas reluctantly turned to head for the stairs when all of a sudden a large, orange tentacle busted through the weakened wall of the hallway and proceeded to swiped and pound away at the confused Arachnos soldiers. The Araquas bobbed and weaved across the room, but did not reach the stairwell before the tentacle grabbed both of them and drug them out of the tower and high into the air. The Araquas struggled to work their way out of the monster's grip, but to no avail as Lusca flailed them about in the air like a flag.

Araqua freed his arms and held his wife tightly. "Hold on, honey," he yelled as his mechanical spider-legs stabbed into the tentacle rapidly. The monster gave an ear-piercing squeal, and it threw the two rogues towards the tower. Araqua maneuvered Mistress Araqua onto his back in mid-air and curved all of his arms into a claw-like position. They slammed against the wall, but Araqua quickly recovered and stabbed at the structure with his spider legs and arm blades. After sliding ten feet down the wall the two bodies came to a screeching stop. Araqua proceeded to crawl and stab his way up to Recluse's lair. As the Araquas neared their destination, a swarm of Arachnobots and Tarantulas advanced to their position.

"You take left and I'll take right," said Mistress Araqua as she climbed up onto one of Araqua's robotic legs. Araqua launched his wife towards a nearby Arachnobot, landing and stabbing it until it began to fall in which she then jumped to the next target. Araqua used two of his robotic legs' blast cannons to snipe the other set of enemies from afar. As Mistress Araqua prepared to jump to her fourth victim, she looked down on the battle below just in time to warn Araqua to hold on. Lusca slammed a couple enormous tentacles against the tower as it backed up in pain from its attackers, shaking the tower to its foundations. Araqua braced for this as the Arachnobots, Tarantulas, and many other enemies above them in the Tangle fell off the tower and down into the chaos below. Mistress Araqua used the falling victims as stepping stones back to Araqua where she clung on his back. When the violent vibrations ceased, the Araquas advanced up the tower.

Araqua used his blast cannons to melt a hole in the steel shielding of Recluse's office window, and then Mistress Araqua used her diamond-tipped stinger darts to weaken the bullet-proof glass enough for Araqua to use his spider legs to break through. Both of them squinted as their eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room as they entered. Off in a corner Lord Recluse's shadowy hulk sat in a large armchair, his eyes dimly illuminating the edges of his faceplate red.

"I never would have guessed that you two would have the courage to venture so far into my web, knowing very well that you stand no chance against a god," rumbled Recluse. "When I heard the details of the report on the WEB incident, I doubted that you two would be the culprits. But when I witnessed the sabotage and destruction of Grandeville's defenses, I knew only a high-ranked Arachnos Agent could possibly know the weaknesses of my fortress."

"Lord Recluse—Stephan Richter—you shall pay for the death of our son, Robert Lanlock!" pointed Mistress Araqua accusingly. "Prepare to die!"

"Ah yes, the boy's parents you two are. Araqua and Mistress Araqua, yes? Many heroes and rogues before you have attempted to take me down and destroy the Arachnos. They all failed, as will you," replied Recluse as he stood up. "You will not be the death of me!"

Recluse charged forward, narrowly missing Mistress Araqua. Araqua is caught in Recluse's vice grip as they tumble across the room. Recluse punches at Araqua's armored chest plate, heavily denting it. Araqua brings all four of his spider legs to Recluse's head and simultaneously fires his blast cannons. Recluse stumbles back, dazed for a few moments as Araqua gets back on his feet and slices at Recluse. Mistress Araqua fires a volley of darts at Recluse's back, but they all ricochet off to the sides. Recluse recovers from the blasts and grabs two of Araqua's spider legs and tears them from his spider pack. Recluse then throws the two legs at Mistress Araqua, knocking her into a wall and causing several large machinery cabinets to fall on top of her.

"No!" screamed Araqua. As he turned to assist his wife, Recluse grabbed both Araqua's helmet and one of his remaining spider legs and threw him to the ground, tearing off Araqua's helmet. Recluse grabs Araqua by the neck, and calmly says, "You're strong, but I am invincible!" With the twitch of his thumb Recluse took Araqua's life and threw him out the window and into the depths below.

Recluse then made his way to the pile of machinery that buried Mistress Araqua and tore it off of her. He grabbed her by the neck, removed her helmet and repeated, "You will not be the death of me." A sudden stab of pain entered Mistress Araqua's stomach. She looked down with tears in her eyes to see one of Recluse's impervium legs pierced through her. What seemed like a century later she hit the floor and watched in blurry vision as Recluse walked away.

*******

"What is the news, Arbiter," asked Recluse as Arachnobots struggle to replace the broken window in his office.

"We managed to return the monster back to Paragon without trouble. The purging of the city is 46 percent complete, but the overall damages will take several weeks to repair," answered the Arbiter as he assessed the read-outs on his touch pad.

"What of Mako and the perpetrators?" Recluse finished popping the dents made on his helmet and replaced it on his disfigured head. Only his eyes were visible on his face.

"Captain Mako's wounds are almost completely healed. The rogues and the hero's bodies have been burned publicly as per your orders, my liege."

"Did you recover the video footage of the whole event?"

"Yes, Lord Recluse. We were even able to salvage the footage of the incident in this office. What are your orders, my lord?" bowed the Arbiter.

"Send all the footage to the WSPDR News station in Cap Au Diable and have them broadcast it over the Rogue Isles. Let this be a warning to all traitors of the Arachnos: death will come swiftly." The End.


End file.
